This is an archived copy of a Positive Life NSW newsletter. To subscribe to our newsletters, click here [1].
It’s hard to believe we are a third of the way through the year! It’s been a busy one for us already. We began the 2011–2014 strategic planning process following the appointment of a working group in early April. We will be keeping you informed on how you can get involved, so look for updates on our website and in Talkabout.
The Australian Health Ministers’ Conference has endorsed The Sixth National HIV Strategy [2] and this will inform our work and response to HIV in NSW. We’ll report more on this soon.
Our new sexual health resources for positive gay men have been submitted to NSW Health for approval and we’ll soon begin research on the mental health needs of PLHIV. There will be plenty of chances to get involved in this work in the coming months, but you can contact Kathy at kathyt@positivelife.org.au [3] if you have any questions or want to register your interest.
We are also developing a pilot program to support people with changing health needs to get the most from the healthcare system. We have had broad consultations and this project is shaping up nicely. Contact Lance at lancef@positivelife.org.au [4] for more information.
We delivered four pilot talks on living with HIV to St Vincent’s nursing staff. The nurses were enthusiastic and the program evaluated well, so we are exploring ways to roll this out to other hospitals.
The research report on our peer support programs conducted with ACON is nearing completion and we will make the report available online soon.
We are also reviewing our website to make it more useful and easier to use. If you have any thoughts, let us know. We also need your thoughts on Talkabout. If you haven’t already done so, please complete our reader survey at www.surveymonkey.com/s/KFYPHHD [5].Your feedback is important in helping us improve the magazine and ensure it continues to meet your needs.
In brief
In this new section of Life.mail, we include a round up of recent news stories and short announcements that you may have missed.
- PBS listing for Sculptra procedure likely by year’s end – for more info, contact Lance at lancef@positivelife.org.au [4]
- Record payout in HIV infection civil case, read more [6]
- Positive Life CEO Rob Lake responds (full article below)
- China ends 20-year HIV entry ban
- UK study [9] shows ART drug interactions are still common and often unrecognised
- Early HAART in pregnancy improves chances of undetectable viral load at delivery, according to a new British study [10]
- AIDS 2010 [11] is being held in Vienna, 18–23 July. Its website will feature webcasts, speeches, slide presentations and more. Positive Life’s Kathy Triffitt has had a poster accepted for the conference
Positive Life responds to HIV infection case
People with HIV, our partners, families and friends have managed our way through the HIV crisis together with HIV negative people for over 25 years. The support and care of the health profession has been critical, but most particularly it has been the support of the community we live in. Gay men with HIV have felt this support most strongly.
It’s clear that a relationship between an HIV-positive and an HIV-negative person presents a risk for HIV transmission. This is especially so when decisions about whether to use or not use condoms are based on incorrect assumptions or information about transmission risk or serostatus. For that reason, our education work aims to encourage and support well-informed communication between partners, at the beginning and throughout a relationship. This includes talking about HIV status, risk and slip ups that happen.
Cases of wilful and/or deliberate transmission are very rare. Most people with HIV are deeply concerned about the risk of transmission and where accidents do occur, it brings regret and grief for all involved. Positive Life believes that HIV transmission must be dealt with primarily as a public health issue, not via judgement through the courts. Limiting the transmission of HIV in NSW has never been reliant on blame and the concept of a guilty party and it would be a retrograde and damaging step were it to become so. Where deliberate infection is proven, existing public health and criminal laws are in place to deal with this.
We know that condoms prevent the transmission of HIV. The decision to stop using condoms in a relationship is a serious one and must be made with careful consideration of all the issues by both partners. If there are doubts, condoms continue to offer the best protection.
Swine flu jabs
With winter fast approaching it’s time to think about seasonal flu shots. The Department of Health and Ageing is predicting an increase in the cases of H1N1 (swine flu) this year and is launching a ‘Facts about Swine Flu’ campaign.
The 2010 seasonal influenza vaccine protects against three virus strains likely to occur this year and is available free to people in at risk groups, including people with HIV and other chronic conditions.
Talk to your GP to find out if you should have the vaccine.
For some advice on how to take care of yourself during the flu season, visit ACON’s information page [12].
HIV laws and policies update
The Australasian Society for HIV Medicine (ASHM) has released its Guide to Australian HIV Laws and Policies for Healthcare Professionals. While this resource is designed for healthcare workers, it contains useful information about the various state and territory laws relating to HIV.
The chapter ‘Safe Behaviours and Disclosure’ offers a snapshot of the public health and criminal laws relating to disclosure. There is also information on privacy and confidentiality that may be useful if you have any concerns about your personal health information.
The guide is available on the ASHM [13] site.
Draft Public Health Bill submission
Positive Life NSW, along with ACON and other key organisations, recently made a submission on the draft Public Health Bill 2010. This bill proposes significant changes to the Public Health Act, the legislation outlining the requirements relating to infectious diseases and how they are managed in the community and by NSW Health.
We specifically called to maintain strong protections relating to doctors’ notification of an HIV diagnosis and the privacy of people diagnosed with HIV. The main point of our submission, however, is to advocate for a change to the requirement to disclose HIV status prior to sex. We proposed that there should be an obligation on a person with a sexually transmissible infection (including HIV) to take all reasonable precautions to prevent transmission. While this might include disclosure of HIV status, it could also include the use of condoms and other protective strategies. This is how Victoria and other states and territories deal with this issue (see article above).
In our submission, we quoted recent research that shows that despite NSW law, disclosure rates in NSW are approximately the same as those in other states and territories.
The joint submission is available on our website here [14].
Free oral health clinics
Sydney South West Area Health (SSWAHS) is holding free oral health clinics for its HIV positive clients on the first Saturday of every month.
Sydney South West Area Health (SSWAHS) is holding free oral health clinics for its HIV positive clients on the first Saturday of every month.
The oral health clinic provides an assessment, scale and clean, advice about maintaining good oral health and referral to a free-of-charge dentist if needed.
For more information or to make an appointment, please speak to your SSWAHS healthcare worker.
If you receive HIV medical services outside this area health service, but work or live within the Sydney south west area, you will need to a referral from a SSWAHS healthcare worker.
When: First Saturday of each month, 9am–1pm
Where: RPA, L4, QE II Building, 59 Missenden Rd, Camperdown & Liverpool Hospital, 1F, Health Service Building, Corner Goulburn and Campbell Sts
Referrals: Positive Central (HIV Allied Health Service), 02 9395 0444